A former police officer from New Springville is suing the NYPD for $5 million.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A police officer from New Springville is suing the NYPD for $5 million, claiming he was fired because a department psychologist ruled he could become a "future alcoholic."

Timothy Silo, 41, and five other probationary officers were sent to the psychologist after they were set upon by thugs outside a bar following a holiday party in Queens in December 2009.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court, contends Silo never went into the bar and that none of the officers was accused of wrongdoing.

Court papers also contend that the NYPD doctor, Casey Stewart, spent eight hours questioning Silo about his drinking habits and his father's alcoholism.

At the end of the marathon session, which apparently concluded only because the plaintiff's tour ended, the suit says, an NYPD alcohol counselor overruled Dr. Stewart and returned Silo to duty with no change to his status as a full-duty police officer.

But Dr. Stewart, who is no longer employed by the NYPD, wouldn't drop the issue, according to the complaint.

Dr. Stewart still contended that Silo would eventually become an alcoholic, and recommended the probationary officer be fired, according to court papers.

FIRED IN 2011

He was fired in 2011 and hasn't found work since, the suit contends.

Silo was appointed to the NYPD on July 7, 2008, when he was 37 years old. At the time of his appointment, he was a college graduate who had spent 13 years in sales and marketing positions and was looking to change careers, according to the complaint.

Prior to being hired, Silo had fully disclosed a 1996 arrest for drunken driving in New Jersey as well as an incident that had occurred while he was a college student in 1991, but neither had been considered disqualifying and Silo passed the NYPD's "rigorous psychological testing" for police candidates.

Upon graduating from the police academy, Silo was assigned to Police Service Area 2, "which included high crime public housing arrests in Brooklyn," according to the suit.

Silo reportedly made more than 33 arrests, received satisfactory or above-standards performance evaluations, and had "an exemplary attendance record."

He also incurred five civilian complaints, which the suit contends "is not unusual for the environment to which he was assigned" and three of them were either exonerated or unsubstantiated. A fourth, alleging a wrongful frisk, was substantiated, but no disciplinary action was taken.

At the time of Silo's termination, the fifth, alleging use of a nightstick on a complainant (who was not injured) during a crowd-control incident, was pending. Silo never had the chance to defend the allegation, according to the suit.

In his lawsuit, Silo says none of the other officers was fired because of the incident.

The city Law Department is reviewing the court papers and Stewart could not be reached for comment Monday night. ---Follow @siadvance on Twitter